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Home > Family > Healthy Fast Food Kids Meal Options Are Hard to Come By

Healthy Fast Food Kids Meal Options Are Hard to Come By

Melissa Willets

About the Author

Melissa Willets is a mom of three girls, one of whom is a newborn. She writes about pregnancy, parenting, home, health, and beauty. She loves running and drinking red wine - but never simultaneously.

About the Blog

WhatToExpect.com supports Word of Mom as a place to share stories and highlight the many perspectives and experiences of pregnancy and parenting. However, the opinions expressed in this section are those of individual writers and do not reflect the views of Heidi Murkoff of the What to Expect brand.

Is the idea of healthy fast food for kids an oxymoron? According to a new study conducted by the Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, sadly the answer seems to be yes.

According to the Los Angeles Times the Fast Food FACTS 2013 study found that just 3 percent of kids' meals are considered healthy. That is a shocking number given that researchers looked at the menu offerings from 18 well-known fast fast restaurants, taking into consideration 5,427 possible meal combinations. The criteria used to make this judgment included sugar, fat, and caloric content.

Despite the message that fast food may not be the best meal for your kiddo if you want him to eat healthy, the study does note an improvement in healthy menu options for little ones. Most restaurants at least offer a healthy side option like fruit or veggies instead of the tried and true greasy alternative, French fries. The Rudd Center also found that 75 percent of the restaurants are serving healthy drink options like milk or water.

Kid favorite McDonald's was recognized by researchers for cutting its kiddie serving of French fries in half. Meanwhile, quickie meal stops Subway and Burger King, among others, have made an effort to cut down on the calories in their main dishes.

Still, as one third of U.S. kids eat fast food every day, clearly there is more work to be done. And let's face it: When a tot goes into McDonald's, he wants to nosh on fried food. He isn't there for the fruit cup. While it's mom's job to limit his fried food intake, the reality is it is a tough sell.

When I take my kiddos to a fast food restaurant, I am not banking on them eating a healthy meal. That is why eating at McDonald's or Burger King is a very rare occurrence for us. We skip the temptation and do fruit and veggies at home. No getting out of eating healthy at the kitchen table. Besides, we don't have fries hanging out in our faces to taunt us!

Incidentally, the study also notes that less commercials for fast food are being aimed at kiddos and many ads feature the new healthier food options — cue the dancing apple slices!